Javier Esposito
Javier Esposito is a homicide sergeant of the New York Police Department at the 12th Precinct with his partner and best friend Kevin Ryan. History Early Life Esposito's parents split up when he was five years old, and his dad moved to Florida with his new wife. A postcard and a phone call are all the attention he got from his dad after he moved. He grew up with his mother and built up a considerable juvenile record for various petty misdemeanors before he decided to turn his life around and make an effort. Before his parents' divorce, his dad took him to ball games, and after fixing up his life, he did three years varsity ball in high school. ("Suicide Squeeze" / "Almost Famous") Before Esposito joined the NYPD, he served in the military in the U.S. Army Special Forces, being shipped to Iraq. After coming back to the U.S. from his tour in Iraq, Esposito suffered PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. ("Kick the Ballistics"/"Kill Shot") Most likely for his military connections, he has several contacts in different divisions of the department, such as at ESU and at the Robbery Department. It is possible that he has had SWAT training as he can be seen carrying SWAT weapons during several episodes. Like Ryan, Esposito carries a Glock 17 as his primary sidearm. With NYPD, Esposito was first assigned to the 54th precinct, where he worked with Detective Tom Demming and his old partner, Ike Thornton. Some time later, he and Ike become a part of an organized crime task force meant to bring down criminal Victor Racine. Ike was then believed to have died not long after he is suspected of working for Racine, which Esposito never believed. In reality, he was actually framed by Lieutenant Holliwell, the dirty cop working for Racine who used his position at Internal Affairs and started an investigation against Ike to put the blame on Thornton and throw off suspicion from Holliwell. Realizing that he was doomed of either being killed by Racine or getting imprisoned by the cops, Ike faked his own death to try to find evidence of his innocence, telling only his wife Carol that he is still alive. Although Esposito stayed in contact with Carol and their son, Tim. Ike never told him about his plan, not wanting to put suspicion on Esposito as well. After his partner's "death", Esposito asked to be transferred to another precinct, and he was then moved to the 12th. Season Two Old wounds are opened in "Den of Thieves" when Fred Cana, a bag-man of Victor Racine, is brought into the precinct for a case and they start talking about Esposito and his old partner, Ike, who died while trying to work the case against Racine. Esposito is left even more devastated when a fingerprint found on the homicide victim matches Ike's, after being led to believe that his partner had been dead for years, only to find out that he could be alive and killing for Racine again. Intent on finding out the truth, he approaches Ike's wife, Carol, and asks her if she knows that Ike is alive. She denies it at first, but later asks Espo not to find him because they are so close to finding evidence that can exonerate him. They later discover that Ike was working with the victim, Paul Finch, to steal a ledger from Racine's vault. Esposito is later finally confronted by Ike, who tells him the whole story. Esposito believes him and does not turn him in. He later even helps him retrieve the ledger from Racine's office. The two are still obviously very much in sync, evident when Ike hints to Esposito that he has a gun tucked in his back, which Esposito uses to shoot Holliwell. Although Holliwell was still able to shoot Thornton, he is later caught by Beckett and the others, and Thornton survives the shot. They both finally get closure because, after three years, they are finally able to prove Ike's innocence and is now free. Personality Javier tends to maintain a serious, macho demeanor; however, he can also be awkward when it comes to personal relationships. Sometimes when he acts tough, he gets scared or freaked out. In many episodes, he is seen trying to hit on beautiful women. In the cases where the more "adorkable" Ryan is more successful in love, Esposito has taken it as a blow to his ego. He considers personal loyalty very important. He sided with Beckett in keeping the investigation of the Orlando Costas a secret from Victoria Gates, understanding the consequences. He feels personally betrayed by Kevin Ryan when Ryan reports the violation of police procedures to Gates, even though doing so saved his and Beckett's lives. Esposito felt betrayed when he realized that Roy Montgomery really had been involved in unethical conduct; he had refused to believe it until the evidence was utterly incontrovertible. This loyalty to his 'unit' over the general chain of command may be a product of his time in the Special Forces, or it may be that he was attracted to military service by his personal code of honor. Relationships Friends Kevin Ryan He and Ryan are best friends, even though they bicker constantly. Their relationship before "Always" was often described as a bromance. As the "younger brother", Ryan is often the target of Esposito's playful exasperation. Ryan and Esposito often engage in teasing and jokes, but have been shown to care much for the other as seen in Knockdown. Despite how Esposito feels towards Ryan for telling Captain Gates he and Beckett's whereabouts in "Always", the two are best friends, this especially being shown when Ryan takes a punch to protect Esposito in a fight in "Cloudy with a Chance of Murder". Their relationship has often been described as a "bromance". Esposito is most likely to make fun of Ryan about anything, like in Secret Santa when Ryan bought a gift for his wife Jenny, and Esposito teases about how Ryan and Jenny are gonna be "busy". He then told Ryan that he and Jenny are ready to start a family when Ryan expressed concerns about bringing a child into the world. Kate Beckett He is always ready with a sardonic comment to keep Beckett on her toes and enjoys the way Castle riles her up. The two are both somehow serious, take-charge types and greatly respect each other. In conflicts between Castle and Beckett, Esposito generally sides with Beckett's resolve to do what they feel needs to be done over Castle and Ryan's willingness to compromise and recognize that they can't do everything themselves. Richard Castle He considers Castle a friend and even once ("Den of Thieves") introduced him to Ike, his former partner, as one of his new partners, along with Ryan, which Castle clearly takes as the tremendous compliment it is. Esposito is, in many ways, the big brother in the relationship with Castle (and Ryan), more physically intimidating, but also protective of his writer friend. When teasing their partners, he and Castle often Feed the Birds. Sometimes they fist-bump, like in Reality Star Struck when Ryan came in, disheveled, and Castle puts in "cock-a-doodle-doo", causing Esposito to laugh. Most of the time, when he's saying something "personal" to Lanie, Castle shooks his head, informing him to let it go in Death Gone Crazy and The Wild Rover. However, during the times when Castle is in conflicts with fellow officers, Esposito often takes the officers' side. And when Castle is suspected of murder in "Probable Cause", Esposito is the one professionally pushing through with the investigation since Beckett is "too close" to the case to be able to think straight about the case, although he never believed that Castle could ever actually be behind the killing. Jenny Ryan Esposito thinks that Jenny was imaginary until she showed up at the precinct in The Mistress Always Spanks Twice, and was proven that he was wrong about her, especially when she stated how he was a great partner to Ryan and promised him to keep him safe. In Nikki Heat, he started crying when Ryan proposed to Jenny. In Demons, Esposito, Lanie, Ryan, and Jenny went on a double date, which turn into a disaster. In Till Death Do Us Part, he got grossed out when Jenny and Ryan kiss in front of him, Castle and Beckett. In The Wild Rover, when Ryan was going undercover and Jenny came in, wanting to know, he told her it was nothing, but Jenny said not to lie to her and demanded where her husband is. Ike Thornton Esposito and Ike have been partners at the 54th precinct. Esposito transferred to the 12th after Ike's "death". In Den of Thieves, Esposito found out he was alive. Romance and here Lanie Parish He and Lanie Parish were in a relationship for a while since Poof! You're Dead. While the two thought they had been successful in keeping it a secret, Castle, Beckett and Ryan were all aware of it pretty much from the beginning. The details of why the relationship ended have not been revealed, but the catalyst for the breakup was when Ryan's fiancée Jenny asked them when they were going to be married during a double date in Demons. Castle and Beckett have privately expressed their hopes that the two get back together. In "The Limey", Lanie reveals that the two still enjoy the occasional "booty call" together, despite the romance not having worked out. But they did get back together for Valentine's Day for Dinner in Reality Star Struck. In Under Fire, when Esposito got trapped in a burning building with Ryan, Lanie showed up, worried, and stood by Jenny, Ryan's wife, when she goes into labor until both men got out and Lanie embrace Esposito with a hug. In For Better or Worse, Esposito was talking to Lanie about their friends' wedding and he hold her hand. In Montreal, since his friend went missing, he and Lanie gotten closer. In episode The Time of Our Lives, when they arrive at the crime scene, they both claim to be "stuck in traffic". In Once Upon A Time in the West, when their friends got married, they, along with Ryan, were really mad. In Kill Switch, he was thinking of proposing to and starting a family with Lanie until he was held hostage on a train and was infected, making Lanie worry and scared until he got vaccinated, and they embraced in a hug. Kay Cappuccio Kay Cappuccio is a reality TV star who appeared in "An Embarrassment of Bitches" that Esposito became smitten with. During a murder investigation, she becomes a victim of stalking, and Esposito sympathizes her and becomes somehow protective of her when she becomes a suspect. This leads her to open up to him about how her life is nothing close to perfect, and Esposito later offers her his services. She parts with him with a kiss on the cheek, saying that she might take up his offer someday. Trivia *Detective Ochoa is Esposito's book counterpart in the Nikki Heat ''series, and he had stated in Tick, Tick, Tick... that he would have wanted Javier Bardem to play him in the movie. *Actors Jon Huertas and Stana Katic have both said in interviews that they play their characters as if Esposito and Beckett had been involved romantically in the past. However, the writers and executive producer chose not to include this in the show as part of the backstory for the characters. *From season 1 to season 4, Esposito carried a Glock 17 or Glock 19 as his main sidearm. As of Season 5, he seems to have switched to a Heckler & Koch USP Compact. *Esposito is trilingual and can fluently speak English, Spanish, and French. *It's rumored that he went to a Catholic school."After Hours" *He is a fan of Regina King."Under the Influence" *According to Esposito, he would buy a Ferrari if he won the lottery"Lucky Stiff" and go to the Super Bowl if he was invisible."Clear & Present Danger" *He likes ''Shark Week."Flowers For Your Grave" *Esposito is a good singer, like his actor."Swan Song" *He a fan of telenovelas, including Chiquitas."One Life to Lose""Private Eye Caramba!" Memorable Quotes by Esposito :Esposito: A control freak like you with something you can't control? No, no. That's gonna be more fun than shark week. - to Beckett, about Castle in "Flowers For Your Grave" :Ryan: You know, if this were a horror movie, we'd be the first ones killed, splitting off like this. :Esposito: Yeah, except we're not a couple of top-heavy co-eds out looking for fun. We're highly-trained officers of the law, with enough firepower to take out a horde of undead. :Ryan: Hispanic and cocky. Yeah, you definitely die first. "Under the Gun" :Lanie: Javier Esposito. :Esposito: Mm-mm. :Lanie: When we get to the crime scene, do not wink at me, do not smile at me, and do not look at me with those puppy-dog eyes. Got it? :Esposito (takes a photo of naked Lanie with his phone): Got it. (smiles and leaves) :Lanie (looks at naked, toned Esposito as he left): Ooh. - after sleeping together Poof! You're Dead :Esposito: Javier? You gonna name a white, Irish kid Javier? :Ryan: What? You gonna bust on me now for being sentimental? :Esposito: I figure it's my last chance. "Under Fire" References Esposito, Javier Esposito, Javier Esposito, Javier Esposito, Javier